Plateau Advice

It's hard to answer these kinds of posts without more details. How long has it been since you last saw a drop on the scale? A plateau is something like 6-8 weeks without a drop on the scale and with no changes to your routine (since diet & exercise changes tend to come with some water weight retention - which can screw with the scale). If it's only been a few weeks, then it's possible that it's just a natural stall and will go away on its own.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10196160/scale-stress-syndrome/p1

Other than that, the most common problems we see come from underestimating calories eaten and overestimating calories burned.

Opening your diary might help to get you more specific advice if you're comfortable doing so.

You're logging everything you eat? Including condiments, cooking oils, veggies, cheat days, etc? Are you using a food scale, measuring cups, or eyeballing your portion sizes? Most people can be off in their estimates by several hundred calories when they eyeball portions. Measuring cups are better, but a food scale is going to be the most accurate.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1290491-how-and-why-to-use-a-digital-food-scale/p1

And make sure that you've calculated your calorie goals appropriately. Remember that these are just estimates. You may need to play around a little to find what works best for you.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1

If you're exercising and eating back your earned exercise calories, be sure that you're using accurate estimates of your burn. MFP and gym machines have a tendency to overestimate certain activities, which can cause you to eat back more calories than you need to. Even a heart rate monitor isn't 100% accurate. If you're eating those extra earned calories it might be a good idea to eat only 50-75% of those.

And there's something to be said for the fact that some people just burn fewer calories than the generic equations predict. If you're an outlier due to size, age, or medical issues, then it may be best to check with your doctor or get a referral to a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.

when i look at your newsfeed and see 3 weeks ago 2 pounds lost, then 2 weeks ago 1.6 lost and a week ago 0.2 pounds lost...than i have to say you are not at a plateau. Thats almost 4 pounds in 3 weeks!

Weight loss is not linear, sometimes you lose some or more, sometimes nothing etc. Look at it overall.
there are lots of factors that can impact your weight loss, like TOM, stress, over training ( holding more water) etc etc.

When you are "stuck" for weeks look first at your logging..do you weigh EVERYTHING? And dont use cups and spoons or serving sizes. Tighten up to be more accurate.

When people complain about a plateau, the real story is about one of two things, inaccuracies in measuring CI, CO or both, or losing patience with the process. I had an episode of the flu that inflated my weight loss. I recovered a week ago and am finding myself frustrated that my over all weight has not decreased to a lower mark. I am looking back at past success, trusting the CICO process, listen to other successes and look forward to the return of loss.

she lost almost 4 pounds the last 3 weeks

xomorganjc wrote: »

I always get to 172 and get "stuck" in my weight loss. It happens every time. Then I end up giving up and I gain the weight I lost back, then a little while later I try again and I get back down to 172... then repeat. What. Do. I. Do.??? This is driving me insane!!!!

Don't give up this time. You aren't on a plateau.

xomorganjc wrote: »

I'm honestly not sure what amount of calories I even should be eating at this point in my weight loss... that's another issue.

What did MFP give you? Are you using the site for logging or just for forums? It should tell you based on what you put in for your stats, goals and activity level how many calories you should be eating per day.

misterwendy wrote: »

i'm curious about something, because I seem to see this a lot...when someone complains of hitting a plateau or a bump in the road, folks immediately ask about their logging accuracy. i'm not saying that logging isn't important, or that failure to be accurate wouldn't contribute to the issue, but i can't help but wonder - if whatever means they're using to log their intake up to that point hasn't affected their ability to shed pounds, why would it become a speedbump later on in the process?

is that because there's a degree of wiggle room early in the process that doesn't exist after you've lost the initial water weight/first excess pounds? it seems somewhat logical that the earlier pounds will be easier to shed than the last few pounds before your goal, but i'm curious - should the process come under more scrutiny as you shed more weight and get closer to your goal? do things that worked early on either stop working or become less effective later on in the journey?

I started at the end of May at 279 pounds and and down to 241-243 or so right now...i've hit something of a wall myself within the past week or so, and I've been wondering if it's because I dropped 35 pounds of low hanging fruit and I'm going to have to up my game now.

Kind of its easier to lose at the beginning. Plateaus tend to be when you hit maintenance, but you believe you are eating at a deficit. Borally people are eating more than they think, hence scales being the most accurate method will help ensure they are eating what they intend to eat. If they establish a deficit again then they will start to lose over time.

I started out pretty sloppy with the logging and measuring. And had an average of 2 pound per week loss. As I became more educated by studying the MFP forums and stickies, I have used a digital scale to measure my food in grams consistently, logging in MFP and a fit bit to measure my calories out including cardio workouts but not strength training. I have kept both of these stats in a spread sheet for 4 weeks. For me (CI-CO=weight loss) predicted my weekly loss 90% accurately. I went to maintenance for 5 of 7 days last week so I only had a half a pound loss, but prior to that I was averaging the recommended, 1% of body weight, loss per week. I am down 41.8 pounds in 20.6 weeks.

misterwendy wrote: »

i'm curious about something, because I seem to see this a lot...when someone complains of hitting a plateau or a bump in the road, folks immediately ask about their logging accuracy. i'm not saying that logging isn't important, or that failure to be accurate wouldn't contribute to the issue, but i can't help but wonder - if whatever means they're using to log their intake up to that point hasn't affected their ability to shed pounds, why would it become a speedbump later on in the process?

is that because there's a degree of wiggle room early in the process that doesn't exist after you've lost the initial water weight/first excess pounds? it seems somewhat logical that the earlier pounds will be easier to shed than the last few pounds before your goal, but i'm curious - should the process come under more scrutiny as you shed more weight and get closer to your goal? do things that worked early on either stop working or become less effective later on in the journey?

I started at the end of May at 279 pounds and and down to 241-243 or so right now...i've hit something of a wall myself within the past week or so, and I've been wondering if it's because I dropped 35 pounds of low hanging fruit and I'm going to have to up my game now.

Basically, people forget to enter into the MFP database their decreased weight as they lose, and new body measurements. They don't receive a new calorie deficit, which would be lower, given that a smaller person (which they now are, having lost weight) needs fewer calories. So rather than eating at a deficit, they are now eating at a maintenance level.


All of this has been said, just in different ways.

mccindy72 wrote: »

xomorganjc wrote: »

Whenever I entered my new weight and activity level, MFP gave me a higher calorie goal. I'm not sure if I should stick with this or if I should go back to 1200... this is my issue.

Why would you be at 1200 to begin with, if that's not the goal MFP gave you? 1200 is a pretty low calorie deficit, usually very short/small women have that as a goal. With activity it goes up even for them.

Saw her diary before she has some logging issues

If you're not logging accurately, you don't know how much you're eating. Calorie counting isn't a good fit for everyone, and if it's not for you, that's fine.

However, you'll have to be more patient with the process. A real plateau, as has been stated, is 8-10 weeks. If you've been losing fine up until just this week? Meh. It happens. Weight loss isn't linear and shifts in loss patterns happen.

It's your choice how you want to monitor your intake, but as I said... if you don't want the insurance of knowing that you're being accurate, you're going to have to be patient. Wait out the scale, and make adjustments as needed.

It's normal for weight loss to hit stalls, sometimes for 3-4 weeks, even if you're doing everything right.

Me? I like knowing I'm being as accurate as I can instead of worrying when the scale doesn't move.